Lars Porsena or Lars Porsenna [key], semilegendary king of Clusium (modern Chiusi) in Etruria, who marched against Rome to reinstate the exiled Tarquinius Priscus. It was said that the heroism of such Romans as Horatius and Scaevola moved him to grant honorable terms of peace and to withdraw. However, the Etruscan version identifies Lars Porsena with Mastarna, a legendary hero of Etruria, who conquered Rome and ruled over the city. According to this tradition, the Romans recovered their independence after Aruns, son of Porsena, was defeated at Aricia by the united forces of the Latin cities. Roman historians dated these events c.500 b.c.
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